An Cosantóir

26 | Vampire 186 from which Cadet Ron McPartland ejected on 5 May 1961 AIR CORPS REMEMBERS ITS FIRST SUCCESSFUL EJECTION BY MICHAEL TRAYNOR in Ireland. Cadet Ron McPartland, a native of Drumshanbo, Co Leitrim, was ordered to eject after a training flight went wrong on 5 May 1961. The Air Corps introduced jet aircraft to M their fleet when the first three Vam- pire jets, (serials 185,186 and 187), were delivered on 21 July 1956. These were also the first aircraft in the Irish Air Corps to be equipped with Martin-Baker ejection seats, a safety mechanism created by Co Down man, James Martin. At 10.45 on Friday, 5 May 1961, Vam- pire Number 186 was Comdt Jeremiah B. O'Connor, OC Fighter Squadron took off from Baldonnel, to carry out in- troductory pilot training on spins and spin recovery in the Mullagh - King- scourt area of Co Cavan. Also on board was student pilot 20-year-old Cadet Ron McPartland, who had 15 months service with the Air Corps. The Vampire climbed to 30,000 feet and Comdt O'Connor prepared the aircraft for the spinning exercise. He re- duced the speed to the point of stall and applied harsh right rudder to force the aircraft into a series of slow horizontal gyrations before the nose of the aircraft dropped below the horizon and the aircraft locked into a steep descending spiral with huge centrifugal forces. After counting a number of spins, or revolu- ay 2011 marked the 50th anniversary of the first ejec- tion from a military aircraft tions, about the axis of the aircraft, Comdt O'Connor initiated the standard recovery action of applying opposite rudder to stop the near-vertical spinning but the aircraft failed to respond and continued in a steep dive towards the ground. Recognising that the standard recovery action was not having any effect Comdt O'Connor reversed the procedure and applied opposite rudder, which again had no effect on the spin- ning aircraft. The descent was so rapid that the three-pointer altimeter was unreadable and at approximately 20,000 feet Com- dt O'Connor pulled the canopy release, which was jettisoned with a deafening roar as the full blast of the air was felt by both pilots. Without hesitation Cadet McPartland pulled his facemask down to fire the ejection seat mechanism and the Martin-Baker Mark 3B Seat, complete with cadet, departed the stricken aircraft with an enormous release of power. Cadet McPartland found himself spinning and descending like a dervish for what seemed an eternity until his parachute opened, reducing his rate of descent until he was suspended beneath the billowing parachute in a relatively controlled fashion. He searched the sky for signs of the Vampire and was sure he got a brief glimpse of it in controlled flight in the far distance before it disappeared from view. The force of the ejection and the loss of the aircraft canopy had appar- ently stabilized the aircraft and it be- gan to respond to the pilot's control inputs. Comdt O'Connor decided not to eject and regained control about 5,000 feet above ground. He failed to see the cadet's parachute descent and was forced to leave the area and turn towards Baldonnel in the now- open cockpit with huge wind noise and turbulence. The pilot experienced great difficulty in maintaining radio contact with Baldonnel Air Traffic Control as his radio lead disconnected with the force of the aircraft slipstream and when he reached to reconnect it his arm was swept back by the slipstream. He had to use all of his strength to retrieve the lead and reconnect it before landing safely and stopping the aircraft with limited pneumatic braking. In the meantime, the cadet was descending rapidly towards the Cavan countryside without ever having been trained in the use of a parachute or how to land while attached to one. As he had no means of directing the parachute or of influencing the rate of its descent he focused his efforts on avoiding a nearby lake. His attempts to control the descent caused the parachute to oscillate wildly and he opted instead to focus on his eventual landing area. An Cosantóir October 2011

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